Aspects of the present disclosure relate generally to fiber optic cables, such as armored fiber optic cables that support one or more optical fibers and include an armor layer.
Contents of armored fiber optic cables, such as optical fibers therein, may need to be accessed from time to time. A typical access location on the cable is an end of the cable. The armor may be tough to remove or circumvent. As such, many operators use a “ring cut” process to sever an end section of the armor and jacket of the cable, which can then be pulled off of the interior contents of the cable in the end section. This access process is called “tubing off” because the portions of the armor and jacket that are pulled off form a tube.
For conventional fiber optic cables, the tubing off process may be cumbersome. For example, if the respective cable includes binder yarns, water-swellable tape, or other layers or contents, these additional elements may need to be cut, pulled away, peeled off or otherwise removed to access optical fibers of the cable.
Binder films may be used and may replace at least some common components in loose tube fiber optic cables, such as binder yarns and water-swellable tapes. For example, a binder film may serve as a binder and a carrier of water-swellable powder. The binder films may be positioned between the armor and contents of the cable core, such as buffer tubes carrying optical fibers. However, Applicants have found that binder films, in some configurations, may hinder the tubing off process because the binder films may increase the force required to pull off the jacket and armor of the severed end section of the respective cable.
A need exists for a fiber optic cable with structure that allows for fast and/or easy access of an end section of the cable.